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The Green Landscape in Construction
Sustainable building had just entered the construction vocabulary in 1998, the
year when Turner Construction (“Turner”, or “the Company”) built nine projects
that were, in today’s parlance, characterized by green features. What seemed at
the time to be a client-driven push for incorporating green aspects into their
respective buildings, turned out to be a burgeoning idea that would give rise to a
global movement in today’s construction landscape.
With increasing awareness of environmental and socio-economic impact of
building green pervading the country, concerned parties began developing
standards. In 2000, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) released
the first version of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
rating system. The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally
accepted benchmark for design, construction, and operation of high performance
green building. Three years after the birth of the system, over 800 projects had
been registered for LEED certification and 87 had been certified. In the same
time frame, Turner’s 11 LEED Certified projects accounted for 12.6% of the total
market share in the category along with 74 separate projects with Green building
elements.
Demystifying Perception versus Reality
In the years since, the interest in building green continued to grow, but the
industry met with resistance due to a perceived cost differential. To better
understand the market sentiment, Turner commissioned a survey of 700
executives in the real estate industry. What the appropriately titled, Market
Barometer Survey revealed, was not that the majority lacked the recognition of
the value in green building, but that the perceived higher first costs proved to be
a major obstacle. In fact, the real cost differential was only about two percent of
initial costs, not to mention the far-reaching savings over time. In light of these
findings, Turner initiated a series of steps committing the company to a series of
actions that foster sustainable building within Turner.
LEED by Example
Turner’s proactive stance on green advocacy resulted in a multi-faceted program
that began in 2004, which highlighted a set of goals in greening from the inside
out. Namely, its internal green policy required all new Turner offices to be LEED
Commercial Interiors1 (CI) certified for greater energy efficiency and a healthier
work environment. The increase in more green features on client projects calls
1
Turner has completed projects under every version of LEED. They are Commercial NC (New
Construction), EB (Existing Buildings), CI (Commercial Interiors) and CS (Core and Shell).
3. 3
for an increase in the number of existing LEED Accredited Professionals (AP) on
staff, and Turner set a goal to double that number in one year. LEED APs equip
building professionals with the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the
integrated design and LEED certification process.
A more tactical green goal was the implementation of a recycling program for
construction waste on Turner job sites. On the education front, Turner
collaborated with USGBC on two endeavors to spread the word on sustainability
– through the sponsorship of an Emerging Green Builders (EGB) program for
students and young professionals, and through the development of an online
Green training course for clients, staff and outside users. To maintain its
leadership position and to safeguard its own standards, Turner aimed to create a
Green Advisory Board and to establish a Turner Green Center of Excellence.
How Has the Program Fared? – 2006 Progress Review
Since making these commitments in 2004, the number of green projects Turner
has completed or has under construction more than doubled from 85 to 195 by
2006, a 129% increase. The list of LEED certified projects has grown to 34 and
the number of LEED registered projects currently stands at 65. These projects2
total over 50 million square feet and are valued at over $12 billion. To keep up
with the expanding projects, Turner’s 2004 aim to double the 42 LEED APs on
staff in one year actually resulted in more than double that number in 2005, and
currently there are 250. LEED APs have demonstrated a thorough
understanding of green building practices and principles and familiarity with
LEED requirements, resources, and processes.
The Construction Waste Management Program has successfully diverted over
83,000 tons of debris over the last two years. To continue the progress, Turner
established a goal to divert more than 75,000 tons in 2007 alone.
In collaboration with USGBC, the EGB program has made tremendous progress
where groups have formed across the country with financial support from Turner.
Moreover, a three-hour online training course, “The Essentials of LEED”, is fully
developed to educate users on how to facilitate a Green building project and to
prepare anyone taking the LEED AP exam.
By 2006, selected members of the Green Advisory Board had been assembled;
outside advisors meet several times a year to keep Turner on the cutting-edge of
Green building strategies and to ensure Turner is working to maintain its
leadership position. With the establishment of the Turner Green Center of
Excellence, employees can now gain access to an online resource on Turner’s
intranet. In addition, every office is staffed with a Green Operation Manager and
Green Champions to ensure Turner’s effective delivery of its Green projects. To
2
The projects span every building type, including Laboratories, Healthcare, Higher Education, K-12 schools,
Commercial Office, Residential, Libraries, Government Facilities, Convention Centers, Recreational, Retail
and Transportation.
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encapsulate the requirements and information, an operations manual along with
a Green field checklist have also been developed to guide staff and all
subcontractors through Turner’s Green building strategies.
The Art of Fine-tuning Green
In addition to the objectives set in 2004, Turner is raising the bar even further
with additional requirements to improve the sustainability initiatives. Recently
adopted measures include:
Require a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) to be assigned to
every Turner Green project - In order to best achieve operational
excellence on projects pursuing LEED certification, Turner will assign a
LEED accredited employee to all Green projects. LEED AP’s have a
unique understanding of the strategies that can be incorporated
throughout the design and construction phase of a project.
Require Turner’s subcontractors to be familiar with the LEED rating
system – All subcontractors awarded work on a Turner project where the
owner is pursuing LEED certification will be required to either have a
LEED AP on their project staff or take Turner’s “Essentials of LEED”
online training course to improve their familiarity with LEED requirements.
Require future Turner offices to be LEED certified – Turner office fit-outs
will be designed and built to achieve LEED certification. Its Kansas City
office recently achieved a LEED CI Silver certification for their new office
space and our Los Angeles, Denver and New York offices are currently
designing new spaces to meet LEED standards.
Measure and reduce its carbon footprint– By joining the EPA Climate
Leaders, an industry-government partnership that works with companies
to develop long-term comprehensive climate change strategies, Turner will
be able to identify its own carbon footprint and then take the necessary
steps to reduce it by addressing energy-related issues.
Turner is also offering its support to the AIA 2030 Challenge, which aims to
reduce energy usage in new buildings by 50% by 2010, leading to a goal of a
carbon-neutral building by the year 2030. The Clinton Climate Initiative Large
Cities Partnership aims to reduce greenhouse gases and increase energy
efficiency in 22 of the world’s largest cities. Working with the USGBC, Turner will
assist with the development and implementation of a plan to achieve these goals
in five U.S. cities.
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Sustainable buildings offer people healthier, happier and more productive
environments. Turner’s vision and commitment aims to improve people’s lives
and to help mend the fabric of our surroundings. The planet’s future and the
lives of our children rest with today’s collective foresight to bridge the
environmental gaps.
I often quote an African proverb that says: "The world is
not ours, the earth is not ours; it's a treasure we hold in
trust for future generations." And I often hope we will be
worthy of that trust.
- Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the
United Nations3
3 Quoted in Peter Swanson’s Water: The Drop of Life, 2001
